Please check out our website www.lowcarbdiabetic.co.uk We created and maintain this site without any help from anyone else. In doing so, we do not receive direct or indirect funding from anyone. We do not accept money or favours to manipulate the evidence in any way. Please visit our Low Carb food and recipe blog www.lowcarbdietsandrecipes.blogspot.com

Is the role of cholesterol in heart disease really one of the biggest myths in the history of medicine?

For the last four decades we’ve been told that saturated fat clogs our arteries and high cholesterol causes heart disease. It has spawned a multi-billion dollar drug and food industry of “cholesterol free” products promising to lower our cholesterol and decrease our risk of heart disease.

But what if it all isn’t true? What if it’s never been proven that saturated fat causes heart disease?

And what if the majority of patients taking cholesterol lowering drugs won’t benefit from taking these pills?

In a special two part edition of Catalyst, Dr Maryanne Demasi investigates the science behind the claims that saturated fat causes heart disease by raising cholesterol.

Check out this new blog. Some of our favourite bloggers have joined forces, Kendrick, Briffa, Zoë Harcombe et al. This blog is going to take off like a rocket, what a week for good news if you believe saturated fats are not the killers, and much of what we hear regarding statins and cholesterol is complete hogwash. The new A Team ? Time will tell.Find the A Teamhere.Eddie

Wednesday, 30 October 2013

With that statement, former Merck CEO Henry Gadsden established the driving force of the pharmaceutical industry more than 30 years ago. With those words, the Big Pharma machine was born – a machine that feeds on public tax dollars and has bankrupted some state Medicare programs and caused other states to reduce the number of recipients in order to pay for the cost of drugs. Over a million Americans have died due to prescription drugs in the past decade. The fact is, because of the aim to sell drugs to everyone, and the “bottom line” superseding any other priority, the pharmaceutical industry has systematically devised ways to hook the general public on drugs, regardless of creed, race, even age.

So far, the industrial complex of Big Pharma is winning. It is imperative that every individual become aware of the aim of the pharmaceutical industry and the pervasive control that the machine has to achieve its aim. Until the public becomes aware and alert, we will remain easy prey to the machine.

Last night Graham posted up a video called The Big Business Of Big Pharma. Via email I received a request from a member of the creative team who made the video to link to the sites above. Seems a fair request to me.

Much to my amazement I find myself agreeing with Phoenix and Sid Bonkers at the DCUK forum. A new member and dietitian Hanna Juchniewicz - MSc Human Nutrition BSc Sports Biomedicine, is handing out some very dodgy advice. Today she said to a member "I would recommend the Newcastle diet, as it improves insulin sensitivity and it is very good for people with diabetes."The member is a long term type one diabetic as Phoenix stated "the original poster says she has had Type 1 diabetes for 40 years , the Newcastle diet is aimed at people who have T2 , Dr Taylor specifically says that it is not for T1s."And from Bonkers."Short fixes generally dont work and often just set you on the yoyo dieting path which is the worst thing you can do."Why are so many dietitians clueless in the safe and effect diet for diabetics ?EddieLink to the lunacy here.

Never a day goes by when we are not having the epidemics of obesity and often linked type two diabetes rammed down our throats by the media. Only those recently arrived from another planet or released from a long stretch of solitary confinement, have not heard the news. and that news is reduce sugar if you value your health. My first thought after reading about MP Tessa Munt's ludicrous ranting, was who's payroll is she on. Checks of MP's declared interests comes up with zilch. This leads me to believe the woman must be unhinged !

"Tessa Munt, an aide to Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, warned that jam could be turned into “coloured mud” if plans go ahead to relax the regulations governing the minimum level of sugar which a product calling itself jam or marmalade can contain.

Ministers are planning to reduce the minimum sugar content in jam from 60 per cent to 50 per cent.

Ms Munt, the Liberal Democrat MP for Wells, warned that the new rules could result in runny spreads which quickly go out-of-date.

She said new regulations from Brussels will mean manufacturers will be able to call their fruit spreads jam even if they are only 50 per cent sugar.

Ms Munt warned that it will mean that producers will be able to sell a "gloopy sludge" that resembles nothing like the traditional British staple."

Now I will be the first to admit there are more than a few who regard me as one wave short of a shipwreck, but fighting to keep “a traditional British staple” with 60 per cent sugar content is utter madness.EddieLink to the lunacy here.

"The low-fat “diet–heart hypothesis” has been controversial for nearly 100 years. The low-fat–high-carbohydrate diet, promulgated vigorously by the National Cholesterol Education Program, National Institutes of Health, and American Heart Association since the Lipid Research Clinics-Primary Prevention Program in 1984, and earlier by the U.S. Department of Agriculture food pyramid, may well have played an unintended role in the current epidemics of obesity, lipid abnormalities, type II diabetes, and metabolic syndromes. This diet can no longer be defended by appeal to the authority of prestigious medical organizations or by rejecting clinical experience and a growing medical literature suggesting that the much-maligned low-carbohydrate–high-protein diet may have a salutary effect on the epidemics in question."Sylvan Weinberg, former president of the American College of Cardiology.Full paper here.Eddie

Drug giant Pfizer has recently been hit with a flurry of lawsuits from women claiming that the company's blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor caused them to develop type 2 diabetes.

Pfizer released Lipitor in 2007, promoting it as a safe way to lower levels of LDL cholesterol, commonly called "bad cholesterol" and linked to an elevated risk of heart disease.

In 2011, however, a study showed an increased risk of type 2 diabetes among Lipitor patients. Critics of the study suggested that the results were due to the fact that patients on cholesterol-lowering drugs are already at higher risk for diabetes than the general population, because they tend to have higher blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Nevertheless, in 2012, the FDA instructed Pfizer to add a warning label to Lipitor showing that the drug might increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Then, in May of this year, a study in the British Medical Journal showed that Lipitor increases the risk of type 2 diabetes even more than other drugs in the same class (the statins), showing that the link cannot be due to preexisting risk alone. Women are particularly susceptible to this side effect: female Lipitor patients have a 22 percent higher risk of developing a new case of type 2 diabetes than women taking other statins.

"Low carb without a good amount of fat (lard, butter, coconut oil, dripping, olive oil) is dangerous! Our brains and hearts need this type of fat and NOT the heavily omega 6 laden polyunsaturated type! Mountains of evidence for this and I'm happy to provide some of it if it becomes an issue here."

And

"I'd strongly advise AGAINST taking statins. Firstly our bodies produce 85-90% of our cholesterol. Secondly, the idea that cholestorol is a cause of heart disease is fallacy. We need it to live and once you hit age 47 the higher the level of it you have the better you likelihood of enjoying a longer life. Thirdly, statins have been implicated in premature deaths of people via cardiovascular events and cancers, but it's a $US 29 Billion dollar a year industry that doesn't want to go away. There is a documentary called 'Statin Nation', you should google it and watch it! Also, here is just one link to a true story about how someone was affected by taking statins:http://dietheartnews.com/2012/11/should ... tin-drugs/ "

bohemian a new member at the DCUK forum.Sounds like this guy/gal turned up loaded for bear I reckon. New star on the forum? time will tell.Eddie

"There may be a tipping point approaching. I was invited to debate the merits of a low-carb diet for diabetes at a big conference last week. It was a combination of the Canadian Diabetes Association annual conference with the annual Stroke, Cardiovascular and Endocrine conferences. Before the debate began, the moderator asked the audience how many believed that low-carb was the preferred diet for diabetics. I was stunned when half the room raised their hands."Dr. Jay Wortman is a type two diabetic and a low carb expert. He controls his type two diabetes with diet and exercise. He is one of the good guys and is a good friend who has helped us. Check out his video and see what lowcarbing has done for him. Eddie

"Yay! One more rock n rollin' result for low carb lifestyle.When I was diagnosed in March last year last year HbA1c was 167 (17.4%). I already had a "healthy" diet but it certainly wasn't low carb.

After lots of research and a ton of good advice in here I started low carbing. Generally below 130 and very often below 50. Any lower than 50 for more than a few days and I was very lethargic. Didn't pass either so reckon 50 is my lower limit.July 2012 105 (11.8%)December 2012 59.0 (7.5%)July 2013 43.0 (6.1%)Today it's 40 (5.8%)

I had a heart attack in July and have been battling back to fitness so had my doubts how good the numbers would be today and must say I'm bloody delighted! As is my DN. One of her students is using my case as part of her dissertation" Link to post here.

Monday, 28 October 2013

Abstract

OBJECTIVE Associations between HbA1c and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) have been reported mainly in Western countries. It is not clear whether HbA1cmeasurements are useful for assessing CVD mortality risk in East Asian populations.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The risk for cardiovascular death was evaluated in a large cohort of participants selected randomly from the overall Japanese population. A total of 7,120 participants (2,962 men and 4,158 women; mean age 52.3 years) free of previous CVD were followed for 15 years. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs among categories of HbA1c (<5.0%, 5.0–5.4%, 5.5–5.9%, 6.0–6.4%, and ≥6.5%) for participants without treatment for diabetes and HRs for participants with diabetes were calculated using a Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS During the study, there were 1,104 deaths, including 304 from CVD, 61 from coronary heart disease, and 127 from stroke (78 from cerebral infarction, 25 from cerebral hemorrhage, and 24 from unclassified stroke). Relations to HbA1c with all-cause mortality and CVD death were graded and continuous, and multivariate-adjusted HRs for CVD death in participants with HbA1c 6.0–6.4% and ≥6.5% were 2.18 (95% CI 1.22–3.87) and 2.75 (1.43–5.28), respectively, compared with participants with HbA1c <5.0%. Similar associations were observed between HbA1c and death from coronary heart disease and death from cerebral infarction.

CONCLUSIONS High HbA1c levels were associated with increased risk for all-cause mortality and death from CVD, coronary heart disease, and cerebral infarction in general East Asian populations, as in Western populations.

More on the Catalyst program. Came in as a comment from Lisa, worth starting a new thread I reckon. Eddie

All I can say is this professor sounds desperate and terrified that the public will know the truth about statins. There are PLENTY of doctors and scientists whose websites I follow, and whose books I have read ,who have all the evidence I need to know that heart disease is cause by a high carbohydrate diet in conjunction with industrial fats. It baffles me that someone who is supposed to be highly educated in medicine, has no idea about human physiology and nutrition. But then, it also baffles me that diabetics are told to eat large amounts of carbohydrate all day long by diabetes experts. 310 grams per day is apparently the correct amount for diabetics to eat. You've got to be kidding me.

I suspect that many at, the Australian Heart Foundation, Dieticians Association and Diabetes Australia do actually know the truth, but of course could never confess. Imagine the public backlash, not to mention litigation.

After the first part of this TV show aired in Australia last Thursday, the outpouring of anger on the Heart Foundation's Facebook page was phenomenal. But, it was encouraging to know that so many Australians are educating themselves about TRUE nutrition. It is such a laugh that the Heart Foundation puts its "tick" on a box of Milo cereal (the tick indicates to consumers that the food item is good for your heart health) This cereal contains around 75 grams of carbohydrate per 100 grams! But, as it is low in fat, they trick you into believing it is healthy. With outright lies such as this, is it any wonder that chronic disease is out of control here?

The Catalyst program was the highest viewed TV show that day.

Here is the message on their Facebook page after one of their representatives attempted to defend their stance on the Catalyst show..

A message from Lyn Roberts, Heart Foundation’s National CEO: “There has been some debate on our page this week on saturated fat and cholesterol and I wanted to reiterate that our recommendation remains quite simple: everything in moderation, except smoking.

I can assure you we take our role as Australia’s leading voice for heart health with great responsibility and are committed to providing information based on the best available evidence from across the world. We stand by the comprehensive evidence base on which we base our information for the public. Our guidelines are developed by the country’s best academics, researchers, health professionals and other experts external to our organisation to ensure transparency. The process ensures a robust position paper that reflects the conclusions of the strongest evidence available at the time.

The Heart Foundation values the ongoing support of the community. We are committed to continuing to assist people with heart health information."

This Thursday's program is about anti-cholesterol drugs known as statins, which are widely used in Australia.

The chair of the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Medicines has written to the ABC in a private capacity, warning the program might cause people not to take their drugs.

Professor Emily Banks says that will lead to more cardiovascular disease events and deaths.

"If people stop using their statins or if they don't start them when they should be, it's very likely that it will result in death," she said.

"It's likely that if this program goes ahead, and it does the unwarranted undermining of statins, that there will be people who didn't have to have a heart attack and didn't have to die from a heart attack, who will die through reducing use of statins."

Thursday's scheduled program is the second in a two-part series. Promotions say it examines how the benefits of statins have been exaggerated.

Insulin: Potential Negative Consequences of Early Routine Use in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes.

Over the years on many occasions people have said to me, why don't you eat the same as non diabetics and use insulin. Some comments or suggestions from people trying to be helpful and some from people who should know better, including healthcare professionals and fellow diabetics. One individual who considers himself a healthcare guru, went as far as to describe me and fellow lowcarbers as "carb cripples" I have always taken the view, I will use injected insulin only when I have no other choice. The day may come when I will have no other choice. If and when that day comes, I will keep insulin levels to the absolute minimum. I will stick with my lowcarb regime, to keep insulin levels very low. Don't get me wrong, insulin should not be feared, but it should be respected. There are many reasons for making my decision to delay injected insulin. Check out this paper for some of those reasons. Yet again low carb high fat proves to be the only sane option.

It would seem logical that the ideal treatment for type 2 diabetes should be early and continuing insulin therapy. Unfortunately, there are several characteristics of insulin treatment and insulin action in type 2 diabetes that limit the usefulness of insulin treatment and that suggest that chronic insulin therapy is best used in the later stages of diabetes when there is an absolute deficiency of insulin.Starting insulin therapy early in the course of chronic treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes would imply that there are unique benefits to insulin treatment. As addressed above, there is little evidence to support such a view. Insulin treatment is neither durable in maintaining glycemic control nor is unique in preserving β-cells. Better clinical outcomes than those that occur with other antihyperglycemic regimens have not been shown. The downside of insulin therapy is the need to increase the dose and the regimen complexity with time, the increase in severe hypoglycemia, and the potential increase in mortality as well as the potential increased risk for specific cancers.Full paper here.Eddie

"Well after eating lots of carbs including lots of veg,fruit,wholmeal breads and pasta, proteins, low fat and having regular exercise (in combination with good bgs) and lots of insulin, I feel awesome "

Obviously a type one diabetic, on insulin, a pump, CGM, lots of test strips and top specialists advising him. Meanwhile countless type two diabetics can't even get test strips on prescription. I am not begrudging the haves, but must they rub it into the faces of the have nots. Just a thought.

Sunday, 27 October 2013

Well with Kath, Graham, Doug and Eddie making their contributions for poems and odes, I thought the least I could do was to rhyme my title.

Here in the UK our clocks went back over the weekend, so that means the mornings are lighter but the evenings get darker that bit earlier now.

The weekend bought mixed weather and certainly most people you talk to are talking about ‘the storms that are on the way’. We’ll see …….. watch this space!

Storms or not, for all of you that were able to get out and about over the weekend, I hope you had an enjoyable one. Some of our family members, including the grandchildren went to a fireworks display and had a great time. The smiles on their faces were lovely to see. Others just made the most of the weather, dressed up suitably and went for a walk. Some were decorating. One thing is for sure, weekends and time with family are precious, so however you spent yours I do hope you had a good one.

Our Sunday started very well. I found I was watching the Indian Grand Prix! As the saying goes ‘not quite my cup of tea’, but as regular blog readers know as Eddie does have to put up with Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday evenings, I didn’t complain. Sebastian Vettel became world champion for the fourth time and Red Bull won the manufacturers championship.

But the real highlight for me was breakfast. “Low Carb bacon and mushroom crustless quiche” - very delicious.

A great start to the day, whatever day it is, in fact it makes a great lunch time meal too.

"When giving out ANY information regarding diabetes, whether it's medication, foods or from your own personal experience. please ensure that you check and check again that the information you have posted is correct. As giving out misleading information or quotes (unintentionally) could put another diabetic in real danger. If in doubt, don't post."

The thread went ballistic and as always when the mods come under pressure, and reach the end of their knowledge level and common-sense threshold, which never takes long to get to, the thread was locked. The great irony is the mods talk more nonsense than many of the members and appear not to spot serious and dangerous information when it hits them in the face. Don't forget the key words here are "As giving out misleading information or quotes (unintentionally) could put another diabetic in real danger."

Over the weekend I have read two posts where very misleading information has been posted. The first was “my cholesterol went from 9.3 to 3.3 when I went from a very low carb diet to a 'medium' carb diet.” This implies a change of diet brought about a six full point change, and could be construed by a newbie or poorly informed diabetic, a low carb diet brought about very high lipid levels. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The second piece of complete and utter nonsense came from the Queen of high carb and misinformation expert, the one and only Phoenix. Who stated "When you are in diabetic ketosis sky high lipids are the norm." I and countless diabetics I know, use ketosis much of the time to control weight and blood glucose numbers. It is a perfectly natural and healthy state to be in. Indeed this is how we evolved. If food is scarce or not available, we use our stored fat reserves to survive. Again, any newbie or poorly informed diabetic reading " "When you are in diabetic ketosis sky high lipids are the norm." may well believe ketosis leads to very poor lipid levels, again nothing could be further from the truth.

If you accept the mods can't read every post and probably do not understand much regarding good diabetes control, lack of knowledge cannot be said about Phoenix. Without doubt she is one of the most knowledgeable and intelligent members of the forum. I find it very hard to believe she did not realise stating "When you are in diabetic ketosis sky high lipids are the norm," would not cause confusion, at the very least, for the newbie or poorly informed. Phoenix is a high carb insulin using diabetic, and is an advocate for the Hope Warshaw "50% carbs of total daily calories is not a high amount" ludicrous dietary advice. Nice try Phoenix but you will have to try harder if you are going to fool us.

So, DCUK mods, will you be adding some clarification regarding my comments ? or does chastisement, post alteration, post deletion, thread locking, and banning only apply to lowcarbers.

This track sums up for me all that is wrong with this world. It tells the story of how the native people of Australia were robbed of their land and way of life. Amazing people who survived in the harshest of environments, until the white man turned up. I do not forget the hand my country had in their undoing. This a stunning live performance from a great band. Eddie

Over at the forum of fun we believe a medical phenomena has taken place. Today the member Rockape671 stated “my cholesterol went from 9.3 to 3.3 when I went from a very low carb diet to a 'medium' carb diet.”

Another member asked “any idea what the HDL/LDL is, and your triglycerides?”

Followed by Rockape671 stating “HDL went from 1.5 to 1.32 LDL 'no result' then 1.7 Triglycerides 1.3 to 0.6”

This data has got the worlds leading scientists and physicians in a tail spin. Never before has a man dropped 6 full points in total cholesterol by diet alone, let alone increasing his carb intake.

Professor N J Knobheadski head of research at the Broadmore institute of research was left agog when he heard the news. “ We never got a six point reduction in total cholesterol even when we fed four pounds of statins a day to participants in our Go For It Trial, the best we managed was five full points and most of the participants croaked.”

This blog is a bull shit free zone

So there you have it folks. As I often say, welcome to the crazy world of diabetes. And it don’t get any crazier than at DCUK.

"A pledge by food manufacturers to cut saturated fat levels is a "drop in the ocean" in the fight against obesity, a top public health expert says.

The commitment is part of the voluntary "responsibility deal" between industry and government.

But Prof John Ashton, president of the Faculty of Public Health, said the approach "lacked credibility".

Among those who will change recipes are Morrisons, Subway and Nestle - who are to alter the make-up of KitKats. (and add even more sugar)

The average man should eat no more than 30g of saturated fat a day, while the average woman should eat no more than 20g.

Most people eat about 20% more than the recommended levels - and a survey of 2,000 people for Sainsbury's found 84% of those questioned did not know how much saturated fat was a healthy amount.

Public health minister Jane Ellison said it was "hugely encouraging" that so many companies had committed to this new pledge.

And Prof Susan Jebb, chairwoman of the Responsibility Deal Food Network, said: "These commitments to help reduce saturated fat are an important step forward."

Writing in the British Medical Journal, Dr Aseem Malhotra said there was too much focus on the fat with other factors such as sugar often overlooked.

However Victoria Taylor, senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation,(on the Flora margarine payroll) said: "Cutting back on saturated fat is one way to keep your cholesterol on track.

"It's really important to keep an eye on our cholesterol levels, as we know that high cholesterol raises the risk of coronary heart disease.

"By reducing the amount of saturated fat in everyday foods, these manufacturers and retailers are helping us to lower our intake. "

THIS IN THE UK IS KNOWN AS TOTAL BOLLOCKS !

As you can see the bull shit brigade are out in force. All over the world this week people have been speaking loudly and have clearly had enough of the dietary lunacy. People know it's sugars and starches and factory made junk that is wrecking millions of peoples health. The gig is up for the junk food mobs and what happens ? They start kicking saturated fat to death.

We must keep the momentum going, post on every site that people read, post anywhere you can, spread the word WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE BEEN FED LIES along with junk food, fight as hard as you can for the truth. Don't forget the bull shit brigade are going to throw £/$ billions at people like us to keep the greatest lies in the history of the human race going.

Friday, 25 October 2013

Around four years ago and after too much booze on a Saturday night one of my kids videoed this in our photographic studio. No script and one edit. Since those days I have become even madder, just ask Jan. Eddie

Sugar may be sweet, but excess consumption leaves a bitter aftertaste: millions of people worldwide are affected by type II diabetes or obesity, costing the global healthcare system billions of dollars every year. As the Credit Suisse Research Institute's 2013 study "Sugar: Consumption at a Crossroad" found, close to 90 percent of general practitioners in the US, Europe and Asia believe excess sugar consumption is linked to the sharp growth in these health problems.

This is a great product in my opinion. We have a couple of good computer systems, but like me they are getting on a bit but still useful. For whatever reason they are not the fastest machines for surfing and posting on the internet. As photographers they work perfectly for picture editing etc. but as I say for posting on blogs etc. they were getting past there sell buy dates. I went out yesterday to buy a new computer, to stop myself going completely mad and putting a fist through a monitor screen.

A great guy at PC World introduced me to this gadget. So far I am very impressed. £199 and very fast. It boots up in seconds and I can be posting on the blog within no time all. The beauty of this machine is the size of the screen and keyboard. I had tried out ipads etc. and found the screens too small and typing on screen a right palaver. If you are looking for a cost effective way to go on line and work fast this may suit you very well. Bear in mind this is not a laptop computer, you cannot load software on to it. The advantage there is nor can anyone else, so no virus protection etc.is needed.

By the end of this year I shall have reached my century. No, I am not yet eligible for my 'telegram' but I shall have had my hundredth appointment at the hospital's eye clinic. Its been interesting. Really. None of my appointments has been a straightforward, routine check up - all have contained an element of stress and discomfort. I have no way of calculating the number of hours I have spent there but-never less than three and sometimes up to twelve hours when admitted for day surgery.

These visits have taken place over six years - so fairly regular and frequent. I have always taken the opportunity to talk to nurses, technicians, doctors etc. When I get home, armed with this information I do my own research. This enables me to understand the decisions I am often asked to make and to follow what is going on - to be an informed, not a passive, patient.

Its not possible to read when your eyes are dilated or after certain procedures, so as well as seeking information I also take the opportunity to try to inform less experienced patients, who are asking questions of those around them. Sometimes the nurses will ask me to speak to very nervous patients, to help reassure them.

For a few years now I have been trying to use my experience to help others whenever I see questions on various fora. and by pm. Now that retinal screening has become established and more people are experiencing diagnosis and treatment, there is both more demand for this help and more people in a position to offer it.

I don't claim any special knowledge -certainly not medical -and am fully aware that practices and opinions differ but it may be useful to some to read of my personal experiences and opinions - always bearing in mind that that is all they are.

I was referred to the eye clinic on my second visit to the GP after diagnosis. Retinal screening was in the process of being rolled out across the country but apparently my GP couldn't wait. Although I had been diagnosed only four weeks earlier I had to have an annual review and an eye test. He thought he could see something on the macular through his hand lens and managed to strain my eye muscle by forcing me to look to the right for far too long. I then had to wait for several months for the appointment while trying to come to terms with diabetes, medication, testing etc. And I was terrified, I shall never forget this period. No one explained, I knew nothing of retinopathy or what was likely to happen in the eye clinic.

Metformin caused me to suffer stroke-like symptoms yet I was told I must continue with it and I was too ill to argue. All I knew was that diabetes was said to lead to blindness in some cases. When I hear people complaining about the inadequacy of the screening programme -and- there are problems with all screening programmes - I am just pleased that they are at least carried out by qualified opticians.

The one thing I do not understand is the fuss made by some over the use of dilating drops. Why would anyone want to refuse them ? A tiny percentage of patients may be allergic or sensitive but there are always alternatives. The point is that everyone I have spoken to in the hospital - biometrists, doctors, opticians and consultants all consider the retinal photo to be useless if the pupil is not dilated. Why would anyone bother to attend for a test which could be entirely meaningless because the pupil was not dilated ? Minor changes could easily be missed. The main use of the retinal photo is for purposes of comparison. It is carried out only once a year. Really People - get over it. Diabetic retinal checks are not the only occasions these drops are used, after all. I think the NHS should refuse to pay when pupils are not dilated as its just a waste of money. Why take the chance? I hear people saying that their vision is fine so that they are confident they can't have a problem. Very often there are no signs. I have suffered massive bleeds behind my eyes and been totally unaware of any problem.

Who are you cheating by refusing dilating drops? Only yourself. Some cite problems after the drops have been instilled as their reason for refusing them. There is always the human factor. I always have dilating drops on my hospital visits - sometimes twice or thrice per visit. Some nurses are expert - others not. Some drop the contents of the bottle into your eye and it takes many hours for the effects to wear off, some use exactly the right amount precisely placed and there is no problem at all. My consultant has a little metal dropper and is so gentle and precise I am not even aware it has been done. People ask why there is no measured dose - but anyone who has ever had to self - administer eye drops will understand the difficulties. Then there are the iodine drops, of course - but that's for another time..........

Next time I shall write about what to expect if you should be referred to an eye clinic, a terrifying thought for many but also something which raises unrealistic expectations.

I recently came across a new study that assessed the relationship between cholesterol levels and stroke. In it, researchers assessed the relationship between cholesterol levels in those who had suffered an ischaemic stroke and their survival over time. Individuals were classified as either having ‘high’ cholesterol (> 4.6 mmol/L/178 mg/dl) or ‘low’ cholesterol (levels lower than this), and survival was assessed 3 months, 1 year and 5 years later [4].

For those with low cholesterol, overall survival at these respective time points were 92, 87, 57 per cent. Survival for those with high cholesterol was significantly better, though: 100, 98, 84 per cent respectively. Overall, lower levels of cholesterol were associated with an increase in risk of death of about 90 per cent.

Oct. 23, 2013 — Even for people who don’t have diabetes or high blood sugar, those with higher blood sugar levels are more likely to have memory problems, according to a new study published in the October 23, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study involved 141 people with an average age of 63 who did not have diabetes or pre-diabetes, which is also called impaired glucose tolerance. People who were overweight, drank more than three-and-a-half servings of alcohol per day, and those who had memory and thinking impairment were not included in the study.

The participants’ memory skills were tested, along with their blood glucose, or sugar, levels. Participants also had brain scans to measure the size of the hippocampus area of the brain, which plays an important role in memory.

People with lower blood sugar levels were more likely to have better scores on the memory tests. On a test where participants needed to recall a list of 15 words 30 minutes after hearing them, recalling fewer words was associated with higher blood sugar levels. For example, an increase of about seven mmol/mol of a long-term marker of glucose control called HbA1c went along with recalling two fewer words. People with higher blood sugar levels also had smaller volumes in the hippocampus.

“These results suggest that even for people within the normal range of blood sugar, lowering their blood sugar levels could be a promising strategy for preventing memory problems and cognitive decline as they age,” said study author Agnes Flöel, MD, of Charité University Medicine in Berlin, Germany. “Strategies such as lowering calorie intake and increasing physical activity should be tested.”

No long term members at the forum of fun will ever forget Cugila. For newcomers, let me just say he was the king of thread lock, post deletion, post alteration and his real forte was banning and winding up lowcarbers. Literally many thousands of posts were deleted by this guy, including a very well known Doctor, who is a lowcarb expert and type two diabetic. OK, so you’ve got my drift. Graham and myself organized Cugila's exit visa, and the forum returned to some fair play and a place of relative calm.

When Cugila was at his most Stalinistic, Sid Bonkers, Phoenix, Catherine Cherub and Noblehead backed him to the hilt. With his departure, the clique as they become to be known, was neutralized and most of their clout was removed. There is a new Cugila on the forum, Anna. Thread locking, post deletion, post alteration and banning is back on the agenda, big time. If this was not enough, her advice to diabetics ranges from non existent to complete dross. Check out this from Anna, posted on the Diabetic nonsense thread here.

"Two old ladies [one whom was diabetic ] in a café couple of years ago said to me Ooooh you're 'a Diabetic' You cant have any more sugar EVER again can you? Made me feel and hearing this one !!! [never forgotten it either]"

Clearly it was written in a vein of what a ridiculous thing to say. Telling a diabetic never to eat sugar again is sound advice in my book. It raises BG fast and has zero nutrients, pure calories and nothing else. Over at the ETYM forum a member of both forums started a thread last night and said he had received a warning from Anna.

"The following is a warning which has been issued to you by an administrator or moderator of this site.

Warning issued for attempting to cause trouble with intent again [rule break of setting up an "us against them"mentality."

This morning I received two emails from members who have received similar warnings from Anna. Only recently Paul served a temporary banning from Anna, for no good reason ! It will come as no surprise all are lowcarbers. It was less than a year ago when the forum had a night of the long knives, and banned a bunch of lowcarbers, which resulted in the ETYM forum being formed. Let's have a look at the "us against them" mentality."

It seems to me there are two main groups on the forum involved in the "us against them mentality." Those that have obtained fantastic control of their diabetes, and report on and support low carb good news every day of the week, some on minimal or no meds. These people that report on the benefits of lowcarb have numbered thousands over the years and have provided 90%+ of the good news posted on the forum.On the other side of the fence are the small group who push carbs, medication and follow the NHS and DUK etc. Most of the anti lowcarbers have talked of their retinopathy and other diabetic complications. They promote what I call the diet of slow death. People who have followed this group hardly if ever report any good news, for very obvious reasons. The NHS stats prove the high carb low fat diet does not work, full stop.This small group of anti lowcarbers have done more than anyone to promote an "us against them mentality."

The big question is WHY have the lowcarb antis been supported by so many moderators ?. Is it because so many past and present mods can identify with poor diabetes control and failure, and stick with there own kind. Or is there a policy from the owners and management of the forum, to subdue lowcarb as the way for better diabetes control. Let us not forget, the forum and main diabetes.co.uk site is about making money. The forum is a mail shot list for the selling of products and diabetes related services, and I can tell you, there is not much money in promoting a lowcarb lifestyle. None of this would matter if the forum was small, but diabetes.co.uk proudly boast we are the largest diabetes forum in the UK. The forum has helped many people, but the antis have confused newbies and out of control diabetics for years, and have undoubtedly sent many to an early grave.

Wednesday, 23 October 2013

Until two decades ago, children and adolescents were automatically assumed to have insulin-dependent type 1 diabetes. However, type 2 diabetes emerged as a “new type” of childhood diabetes in the 1990s in association with the epidemic of childhood obesity. It quickly became apparent that this new pediatric disease disproportionally affected disadvantaged minority children and was associated with comorbidities that increased the risk of future cardiovascular disease.

After more than 20 years, the optimal approach to the treatment of childhood type 2 diabetes remains largely unknown. Besides insulin, metformin remains the only other antidiabetic medication that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for use in youth with type 2 diabetes. Glimepiride and rosiglitazone failed noninferiority tests versus metformin as initial monotherapy in company-sponsored clinical trials. While the primary study results of the randomized phase of the TODAY (Treatment Options for type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth) study showed that combination therapy with metformin plus rosiglitazone was more effective than metformin plus intensive lifestyle intervention and metformin alone (1), rosiglitazone will not be used with any frequency in young patients with type 2 diabetes because of concerns about the cardiovascular and other adverse effects of this class of medications. Once again, pediatric diabetes practitioners are left with just metformin and insulin for adolescents with type 2 diabetes.

Why haven’t glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonists and dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors that have been approved for use in adults with type 2 diabetes been approved for the treatment of adolescents …

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About Me

We are a small band of diabetics all low carbers. Posting links to diabetes related articles and low carb food advice. In our spare time we like to lampoon the spreaders of fear and misinformation. Welcome to the crazy world of diabetes.